The personal computer (PC) has become ubiquitous in society. Personal computers are used in the home and in the office for a variety of purposes, one of the most important of which is accessing the Internet. A personal computer may be used to browse web sites and to send and to receive e-mail. The average price of a personal computer has fallen to the point where it is affordable to most of the population, which further increases the importance of Internet applications.
Despite the popularity of the personal computer, it is expected that future Internet development will focus on non-PC devices that are capable of accessing the Internet. These “web-enabled” devices include many conventional appliances (e.g., stereos, refrigerators, and the like) that may access the Internet for any number of purposes, such as notifying the manufacturer of a malfunction, downloading a software upgrade from the manufacturer, transmitting owner warranty information to the manufacturer, and the like. Internet telephones may eventually replace conventional telephones as “voice-over-IP” technology becomes more fully developed.
Consumers will use a variety of different devices to surf the web. Browser capability is being added to mobile phones, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices and electronic organizers, such as the Palm VII organizer, televisions, and the like. More recently, web-enabled personal access devices (PADs) have become available. These PADS are tablet-sized “web terminals” that resemble stripped-down laptop personal computers. The PAD executes selected Internet-related applications, including a browser program and an e-mail program. The PAD user interface typically is an LCD touch screen, a mouse-like pointing device (e.g., a scroll pad), and a software keyboard operated by the touch screen. The PAD may communicate by wireline or wirelessly with the Internet. In a wireless environment, the PAD communicates wirelessly with a base station that is connected by wireline to the public switched telephone network or to a proprietary local area network (LAN). A wireless PAD allows the user to move around the home or office while browsing the Internet. The base sation may be incorporated in a cradle that normally holds and recharges the PAD when it is not in use. An example of a web-enabled personal access device (PAD) is the Geode™ WebPAD™ system from National Semiconductor Corporation.
While the different types of web-enabled devices are intended to offer cheaper, more user-friendly access to the Internet than a conventional personal computer, many cost savings are not realized because of the redundancy in hardware or software functions of these web-enabled devices. For example, a PAD such as the Geode™ WebPAD™ system and a Palm VII organizer both contain an LCD screen and a wireless transceiver. Additionally, much of the software in these devices also is redundant. Moreover, PADs and electronic organizers do not provide the functionality of a telephone, so that a consumer must still own a separate Internet telephone in order to use the Internet for phone service. This further adds to the consumer's equipment costs.
There is therefore a need in the art for improved web-enabled devices that allow a user to access the Internet for a wide variety of applications. In particular, there is a need for a web-enabled personal access device (PAD) that is capable of browsing Internet web sites and capable of operating as an Internet telephone.